
Gass. 
Book- 






A. W. FABER. 

Cf)e 3^enctUiLeatj JHines of Asiatic g^itjerta, 

I. p. ALIBERT. 

A HISTORICAL SKETCH. 
1761-1861. 



1865. 




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iMiil ill's kiiiiittL Wrilii'iistorileus mm heil. Micluol, 



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T. P. ALTBERT. 

THE PENCIL-LEAD MINES OF ASIATIC SIBERIA. 
A. W. FABER. 

A HISTOPJCAL SKETCH. 
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The rapid progress made in the mechanical 
arts during tiie last fifty years, has brought within the 
reach of all classes of the present generation a host 
of contrivances, which, among our immediate ancestors, 
were either but little known, or else confined at least 
to the use of the wealthy few. 

Anionic these minor contrivances the Lead- 

o 

Pencil has won for itself an honorable place, both by 
its services in the past and its present usefulness. Few 
articles have contributed more to the spiead of the arts 
and sciences. Not one can be named so nearly imi- 
veisal in its daily use. Our very familiarity with it 
tends to make us regard it with indiflerence. Yet the 
history of its origin and the processes of its manufoc- 
ture are not without interest. 

Like most articles that depend for their exist- 
ence upon mechanical skill, the Lead-Pencil is entirely a 
product of modern times. The ancients knew not either 
the Lead-Pencil in its present form, or the use of lead 
in any shape for the purposes of art or of writing. 
It is not until the Middle Ay-es that we hear of lead 
being used lor either of these piu-poses ; nor is it then 
the article now made into pencils, but the iiutulUc lead, 
Vvhich dillers Irom the foniiei' in almost everything 



1-3 



except appearance. To this outward siniilaiity, how- 
ever, with the metallic load, the pencil-lead or black- 
lead owes its common name, — the scientific name being 
graphite. Its composition is a mixture of carbon with 
a small quantity of iron. 

The metallic lead was used, both by the ancients, 
and down to comparatively modern times, for ruling 
the parchment of manuscripts, and for this purpose was 
cast into sharp-edged disks, a shape which had the ad- 
vantage over every other, that it prevented the soft 
metal from being easily bent. This disk was called by 
the Eomans proedudal, and by the Greeks Ttapd/pa^og, 
whence our paragraph. « 

The first traces of drawings in lead are con- 
temporaneous with the earliest development of modern 
art. Mention is made of works by masters of the four- 
teenth (the Van Eycks especially) and fifteenth centu- 
ries (Memlink and others), which appear to have been 
produced by some pencil-like instrument on paper sur- 
faced with chalk. This style has been called nilrcr 
drawing, but without good reason, — unmixed silver, at 
least, being, on account of its hardness, entirely out of 
the question. At a later period, smooth boards covered 
with a preparation of calcined bone-dust seem to have 
been used in place of the chalk- paper, but without 
much success. 

What the Italians ol' the fourteenth, centiuy 
called stile, a pencil made of a mixture of metallic lead 
and tin, was, however, (juite frequently used at tliat 
time ; it had the great and distinctive advantage, that 
its marks could be partially, if not entirely, rubbed 
out with soft bread crumb.s. A portrait Irom life of 



\ 



Petrarch's Laura is known to have ))een thus taken ; 
and down even to the time of Michel Angelo this man- 
ner still remained in use, but seems never to have at- 
tained to any general acceptance. 

Both for writing and drawing the quill was 
then the main reliance. During the palmy days of 
Italian art the eager search after better and less imper- 
fect working materials resulted in the discovery and 
introduction of black and red chalks. Vasari, in speak- 
ing of an artist of the sixteenth century, coinmemls 
the versatility which enabled him to excel at tlie same 
time in the use of the stile, the (juill, and of both 
black and red chalk. 

But all these different materials were almost 
innnediately discarded on the discovery of the celebrated 
black-lead mines of Borrowdale, in the County of Cmu- 
berland, England, which took place during the reign ot 
Queen Elizabeth, in the year 1564, and was followed in 
the very next year by the luanul'acture of the first 
Lead-Pencils, substantially such as we use them at the 
present day. 

The lead being thus a product of English soil, 
and all other' facilities beiny; found at hand in the imlus- 
tiial activity of England, already then distinguished 
among nations, it was but natural, that the manufacture 
should remain, for some time at least, an exclusively 
English one. Its processes were, however, very simple. 
The lead, as it came from the mine, was sawed into 
thin slabs, and these again into long strips of the requi- 
site size, wdiich were without further preparation glued 
into the wood. It is not a little reuuukalde that these 
first pencils lemaiu to this day the best ever made, and 



c 

are not surpassed in delicacy or smoothness by any 
product of subsequent times. It is, in reality, this excel- 
lent quality, more even than the fact that they supplied 
a want so long and so urgently felt, that first established, 
and so long maintained, the extraordinary reputation 
enjoyed by the Cnmberland lead-pencils in the world 
of art. 

So important did this branch of industry soon 
become, that the Government thonght it necessary to 
prohibit the exportation of the lead, and that a regular 
black-lead market was established in London, where, on 
the first Monday of every month, sufficient lead was 
sold at auction to meet the supposed wants of the pen- 
cil manufacturers. The price averaged from 36 to 40 
English shillings ($10 goldj per lb. avoirdnpois, but the 
finer qualities, according to Diifrenoy, were run up as 
high as 400 francs ($80 gold) per kilogramme (about 
2 lb. avoirdupois); and although the mine never re- 
mained open longer than .six weeks in every year, yet 
the value of the yearly product is said to have reached 
c£40,(j00, — a much more considerable sum in those 
days than it now seems to us. So great and perhaps 
exaggerated was the value of the ore, that the mines 
on several occasions were attacked by organized ma- 
rauding expeditions li'om the neighboring mountains, 
and had to be protected by a large military force sent 
for the pin-pose by the authorities. 

Although the export of the lead had been 
entirely prohibited, and (he mine allowed to remain 
open only six Aveeks in the year, nevertheless, the con- 
tinued working for a eentuiv or more yraduallv dimin- 
ished and iinally exhau^ted tlie \ ield. until lor man_)' 



years past nothing has l)ec'n obtained but impure refuse. 
In the natural expectation that such would be the re- 
sult, and stimulated hy the extraordinary value of the 
product of the Cumberland mine, English manufac- 
turers and men of science have long since sought foi- 
Pencil-Lead in all parts of the world, and, indeed, dis- 
coveries have been made in Spain (at Ronda in Granada, 
near Malaga), in Ceylon, Greenland, California, France, 
Italy, in various parts of Germany, and more recently 
in North America, both in the New England States and 
in Canada, but none of them have furnished a material 
for pencil-making in the least to be compared to that 
from Borrowdale. Quite recently again a company was 
formed in England to continue these researches, but 
after several years of fruitless labor and an expenditure 
of about twenty thousand pounds sterling, the attempt 
has been abandoned. 

Long befoie the final exhaustion of the Bor- 
rowdale mine, processes were invented for cleaning and 
refining the impure refuse which had at first been cast 
aside, and the same processes were applied to the coarser 
and less valuable article obtained from other sources. 
The purified powder was pressed into a substantial cake 
which could be cut like the old native ore. But the 
material produced by tiiis process was found by expe- 
rience to be very deficient in strength, and otherwise 
imperfect. A variety of ingredients were then tried, in 
the hope that by cotnbining them with the finely pow- 
dered lead, the necessary consistency might be' obtained 
without detracting from its writing qualities. Glue, 
isinglass, gum arable, and almost every other gum, were 
tried successively, but in vain. The same was done with 



8- 

iilmost all the liighh' fusible metals, notably ■with anti- 
mony, which at first promised well, but failed entirely. 
The mixture with 30 to 40 per eent, of sulphur came 
nearest to being a success ; but even that made a very 
bi'ittle composition, and the marks always remained 
faint. 

It was not mitil the year 1795 tliat the dis- 
covery was made upon which the entire present Pencil 
manufacture is based. It was in France, where industry 
was progressing with rapid strides imder the recent 
removal of old and obsolete restrictions, and where this 
branch of manufacture had then been but just intro- 
duced, that it was first suggested to mix the powdered 
and purified lead with cJa^. The snggestion was a most 
happy one, and the process at once proved a complete 
success. It not only restored to the powdered lead the 
necessary consistency, without materially diminishing its 
writing qualities, but was soon found to furnish also the 
means of making a lead of every degree of hardness or 
softness, — a most desirable result, Avhicli had never been 
attaina])le even with the best native Cumberland lead. 
Though the new jn'ocess added to the complications of 
manufacture, it was, nevertheless, more economical, and 
admitted of the use of the inferior qualities of lead, which 
liad already then and have been since discovered in a 
variety of localities, thus offering a combination of .xo 
many advantages, that it speedily superseded all the 
processes fornuMiy in use. Although at tl\e present day 
elaborated iuio a system of perfection scarcely recog- 
nizable as the offspring of the clumsy attempts of the 
first inventor, it remains in principle essentially unal- 
tered. The lead, which comes from the different mines 



9 

in every imaginiiblo quality, is CcarefuU}' sorted, crushed, 
and, by a well-known process of washing or sluicing, 
freed from all impurities, and separated into different 
degrees of fineness. The clay is submitted to a some- 
what similar treatment. These two essential raw mate- 
I'ials are then spread out in shallow pans, and dried at a 
low temperature. They are next mixed in the requisite 
proportions, which are subject to constant variation 
according to the quality of each, and tlie kind of goods 
designed to manufacture. Tlie mixture is then anew 
wetted, and ground in heavy iron mills for many hours 
at a time, the mills working day and night. After 
grinding, it is again repeatedly dried and ground anew. 
When the requisite degree of fineness and evenness is 
attained, the mass passes into the hands of skilful work- 
men, who knead it like dough into a cake of the requi- 
site consistency. This cake is placed in a cast-iron cyl- 
inder, and by a severe but slow pressure is squeezed 
through a small hole at the bottom, from which it issues 
in the shape of a continuous thread, coiling itself up 
like a rope on a board below. This continuous thread 
is none other tlian the lead which is afterwards put into 
wood to make the pencil. At this stage, however, it is 
still somewhat soft and elastic. It is now straightened 
out, cut in the requisite lengths, and laid close together 
in layers, kept in their places and prevented from warp- 
ing by a slight pressure. It is then dried in a moderate 
temperature, and, when perfectly dry, packed in cruci- 
bles hermetically sealed, and submitted to a high heat 
in ovens of a peculiar construction. 

The lead is now finished, with the exception 
of the trying, whicii is the most responsible operation, 



10 

and requires the greatest skill, care, and conscientious- 
ness. To no one but to the manufacturer himself, avIio 
alone can appreciate the value of his reputation, can 
this test be safely intrusted, as no amount of care and 
watchfulness can at all times secure correct results in 
processes so complicated. 

After trying, the finished lead is ready for the 
wood. This is chiefly cedar-wood, — none other having 
been found that possesses in the same degree the two 
essential qualities of extreme fineness of grain, and 
perfect softness under the knife. The immense blocks 
of cedar, the best of wliich comes from Florida, are 
cut up into small strips of the length, and a little more 
than half the thickness of a pencil ; the groove, of the 
size of the lead, is cut into them with a plane, the 
lead glued in, a similar strip of wood glued over it, 
and the pencil is to all intents and piu'poses finished. 
It still, however, has to undergo all that large variety 
of processes, which change it froni a rough, square 
stick covered with glue, into the smooth, polished, 
rounded or cornered, stamped, gilt, headed, and. in fiict, 
completed article, which every one handles with pleas- 
ure and satisfaction, without pausing to consider how 
many industrious pairs of hands have contributed to its 
production. 

To any one familiar with the leading charac- 
teristics of the principal modern nations, even this 
slight and imperfect description will ani]»ly explain why 
the Pencil manufactiu'e, beginning in Englanil, and iui- 
proved in France, should have made its final home in 
Cieiiuany. It is a manufactuie in wliich success dt'pends 
preeminently upon cuustiiut watchfulne.-<s and tin; most 



11 

conscientious caro, — and these are the qualities which 
distinguish the German race above all others. 

Already at a very early period in the history 
of Pencil-making, this industry had been transplanted 
to Germany, and as far back as 1726, the parish regis- 
ters of the little village of Stein, near Niirnberg (where 
A. W. Faber's factory is now located), record marriages 
of "Pencil-Makers," and of "Black-Lead Cutters," male 
and female, — both men and women being then, as now, 
engaged at this labor. But for many years the manu- 
liicture languished, and made no progress. The com- 
plete isolation from the outer world, to which political 
animosities and sectional divisions had reduced the petty 
German States, prevented the introduction and adoption 
of foreign improvements ; while a bigoted adherence to 
the antiquated system of guilds crushed out all compe- 
tition at home, and with it all opportunities for domes- 
tic progress. 

Under such untoward circumstances did Pencil- 
making first take root in the country destined to be 
its chief home ; and under like unfavorable auspices 
was the foundation laid of that establishment which has 
since become the largest of the kind in the world. 

In the year 1760 Caspar Faber settled in the 
little village of Stein, near Niirnberg, and in 1761 com- 
menced the manufacture of " Faber's Pencils," which 
have since made the name of this insio-nificant village 
a household word wherever civilization has carried that 
most modest, but almost indispensable companion, the 
Lead-Pencil. 

In 1761 the entire estate of the founder con- 
sisted of a small cottage-liouse suiiounded by a garden- 



12 

lot, and the weekly pi'oduct of liis factory was carried 
to Niiniberg, or Flirth, in a hand-basket, and there sold. 
But the high prices ^^aid even then for his goods fur- 
nish the best proof of their early superiority. 

In 1784 Anthony Willi.^m Faber, whose name 
the firm bears to this day, succeeded his father, Caspar 
Faber. 

In 1786 a judicial inventory, religiously pre- 
served in the family archives, shows the entire personal 
propertv of the family to have amounted to " Fifty-Nine 
Florins," or about twenty-five dollars in gold. 

In 1810 Anthony William Faber was in turn 
followed by his son, George Leonard Fabek, father of 
the present proprietor. Under his able management 
great progress was made, many improvements were sug- 
gested and carried out, some of the processes of man- 
ufacturing were systematically elaborated and perfected, 
and a number of intelligent and thoroughly schooled 
Avorkmen gathered around the firm. But during his 
lifetime the commercial relations of all Europe were 
most unfavorable to progress, or even stability ; and at 
his death the annual sales of the factory had fiillen 
off acrain to the insio-nificant sum of 12.000 florins, and 
the workmen emplov'ed numbered no more than twenty. 

It was under these iuausjiicious circumstances 
that the present proprietor, the fourth in direct descent 
from the original founder of the lactor\', assumed the 
management. 

John Lothair Faber, born the 12th of June, 
1817, had at an earlv au-e mastered the details of his 
father's business, but oppressed by the contracted com- 
mercial relations of the times, amid which the entire 



13 

niaiuifiicturing interests of South Germany remained 
isolated from the rest of the world, had sought in 
Paris and London the experience and the connections 
necessary to that development of his father's business, 
to which his ambition prompted him. At the age of 
twenty-two the sudden death of his father recalled him 
home, and in August, 1839, he assumed entire charge 
of the affairs of the house, which, under his manage- 
ment, have experienced a development and attained to a 
success almost without example in the annals of man- 
ufacturing industry. \ Witli an enthusiastic earnestness 
and a far-sighted system that could not foil of success, 
he began his work. Guided by his motto, — 

Truth, Eight, Thrift, 
he first sought, by the most conscientious labor and the 
most unwearied industry, to still further improve the 
quality of his products, and to compel, by their unvaried 
excellence, the implicit confidence of both dealers and • 
consumers. He aimed at the highest standard, and was 
not satisfied until he had secured the approval of the 
most critical. Artists of world-wide renown, — Cornelius, 
Kaulbach, Benderaann, Lessing, Horace Vernet, — took 
pleasure in commending his Pencils, and in lending the 
invaluable aid of their great names to the indorsement 
of his growing reputation. Having succeeded thus far, 
he travelled over the whole of Germany, over Russia, 
Austria, Belgium, Holland, France, England, Italy, and 
Switzerland, and succeeded in establishing in each of 
these countries close business relations, which remain to 
this day the pride and pleasure of his house. In thus 
advancing his own interests, he rendered essential ser- 
vice to the entire manufacturinu' interests of his native 



14 

Stute. Not only did many of the connections acquired 
by him become available for other branches of industry, 
but the example of his siiccessful enterprise proved an 
encouragement and stimulus to many, who in their turn 
sought and found in other countries both an outlet for 
their products and the beneficial impulse of an extended 
competition. It is no doubt partly in appreciation of 
this national result of Mr. Faber's enterprise, that the 
Government of his State has at different times tendered 
him those honors which it is in the power of a govern- 
ment to bestow, and whose chief value consists in the 
very services of which they are but an official recog- 
nition. To other previous honors bestowed on Mr. J. 
Lothair Faber, the King of Bavaria has quite recently 
added a patent of nobility. 

The extended commercial relations established 
by the travels of the head of the house did not, how- 
ever, long suffice for the growing business of the firm ; 
and Mr. J. Lothair Faber soon enlisted with him the 
services of his two }ounger brothers, who had been des- 
tined by their father for other pursuits. Mr. John Fa- 
ber, the older of the two, remained with him in Stein, 
to aid in the management of the fiictory ; Avliile the 
younger, Mi'. Eberhard Faber, removed to the United 
States, — the daily increasing business with which country 
seemed to call imperatively for a more intimate con- 
nection. He established a branch house in New York, 
in which is centred the trade of the United States, the 
Canadas, Cential and South America, and the West 
Indies. Similar reasons speedily called for a like estab- 
lishment in Paris, which was in turn followed by still 
another in Loudon; cuucentratinu' in the latter the trade 



15 

of England itself, of Australia, the East Indies, and other 
British colonies. The supplying of Germany, Italy, Rus- 
sia, of the rest of Europe, and the East, is carried on 
from the factory direct. 

While thus, under the patient and fostering 
care of the present proprietor, the reputation of his 
goods grew and expanded, taxing his enterprise to pro- 
vide for their distribution, the factory itself in like m*eas- 
ure grew and expanded. Each year called for additions 
and enlargements ; until the establishment, once con- 
tained in a small cottage-house, all too large for its 
wants, now seems an entire village of factories rather 
than a single one. But this increase was not one of 
brick and mortar alone, of smoke-stacks and steam- 
engines; it was — more important by far — an increase 
of living, human beings, for whose health, comfort, and 
general welfare the proprietor held himself responsible. 

The new factory buildings were habitually con- 
structed with this view. The entire inner ormmization 
was based upon strict rules of justice, and subjected to 
regulations known to every one, and from wliich every 
one derived some benefit. A liberal increase of wages, 
after a certain number of years' employment, guarantees 
to all an increasing competence as an incentive to steady 
labor. New and connnodious dwelling-houses were built 
lor the operatives, and let on favorable terms to such as 
chose to occupy them, subject only to a few simple rules, 
which all comply with cheerfully. 

A iSavings Bank was next established, which 
receives tiie smallest contributions, and pays interest as 
soon as the deposit reaches the small sum of two dollars. 
It is ahnost imiversally sivailed of by the woik-people, 



16 



and has had a most beneficial influence on their character, 
their comfort, and even on the quality' of their work, — 
the largest depositors being also generally' the most 
reliable workmen. To guard against the necessity of 
drawing the deposits except in urgent cases, a sick 
fund is formed, chiefly from the fines and penalties for 
contravention of the factory or house rules. This dis- 
position of the fine-monej^ renders its prompt paj'ment 
a matter of general interest, and serves in its turn to 
throw the enforcement of the rules upon the workmen 
themselves. 

For the benefit of all, — meu, women, and chil- 
dren, — a library was founded, which is very extensively 
patronized. A child's nursery takes charge, dui-ing woik- 
ino- hours, of the young whose mothers are unwilling, 
or cannot aflbrd, to give up working in the factory; 
for the older children, a large new schoolhonse has 
recently been built, and every fiicility is furnished for 
their improvement. An open air gymnasium, in the 
midst of a little wood, gives the opportunity for many 
a festive gathering, to which two singing societies and 
a cross-bow club lend animation and harmony. In all 
out-of-door sports the son and nephews of the propri- 
etor take their j^l^^ces in the ranks with other boys; 
and he himself, with all his family, takes pleasure in 
sharino-, with all his workmen and their familie.s, their 
simple feasts and entertainments. He himself dwells 
near them, and truly in their midst. The gardens and 
parks surrounding his house and that of his brother 
John enclose the factory buildings on three sides, 
while the river Kednitz runs between them and tlie 
village itself. The slight eminence on which the dwell- 



17 

ino-house is built makes its turreted roof a promi- 
nent object on the northern bank of the little stream, 
■while the pointed Gothic spire of a blight, cheerful 
church at the southern end of the village, — another 
i-ecent gift from the proprietor, and visible for miles 
around, — throws over the entire neighborhood a halo 
of peace, quiet, and plenty. 

Surely the existence of such a village family 
of industrious working men, women, and children, whose 
products travel to the farthest ends of the civilized 
globe, cannot be devoid of interest ; nor is it, surely, 
an unjustifiable pride with which tlie manufacturer re- 
fers to the festival held in that village on the 16th of 
September, 1861, and kept as a holiday for miles around. 
On that day was celebi'ated the hundredth anniversary 
of the establishment of A. W. Faber's manufactory in 
Stein. 

On the eve of the 16th, all the factory work- 
men, in a long torch-light procession, moved through 
the gaily decorated and illumined village, and thi-ough 
the gardens and parks to the open space in front of 
the proprietor's dwelling-house, and, after the singing 
of appropriate songs composed lor the occasion, pre- 
sented him, by the hands of the oldest among their 
number, with a beautiful, album containing copies of the 
songs just sung, and of the address delivered, together 
with the names of every one in the employ of the 
house. Among them were families of whom lour gen- 
erations have worked and toiled, and still work and toil, 
on the same spot and for the same family ; and when 
the jM-oprietor thanked them for their numerous prools 

3 



18 

of fittachnient to liiin and iill liis house, mniiy a gra}-- 
bearded face was wet witli teais. 

Early on the morrow all gathered around the 
house of Mr. Johanu Faber. and received from his hand 
a simple present suited to the age and sex and wants 
of &ach, and a bronze medal, struck in commemoration 
of the event, bearing the names of the successive pro- 
prietors and a short inscription with the date. From 
iiere the jirocession, led bv all the memliers of the fam- 
ily, passed to the new church. Avhich had been solemnly 
consecrated only two Aveeks before, and amid the fes- 
tive rinoino- of the chimes rany-ed themselves along the 
cheerful aisles. After the services a military band re- 
ceived the departing congregation, and at the head of 
the procession led the way back through the village to 
the greensward of the park, where the rest of the day- 
was spent in hearty rejoicings and innocent merriment. 
Lono; tables were set alono; the lawn for dinner: all the 
amusements of a country fair were scattered around 
the paik, whose walks and arbors and summer-houses 
were gaily decorated and covered with mottoes and in- 
scriptions commemorative of events in the history of 
the house and of its founders. In other parts races, 
wrestling, and climbing matches, dancing, singing, and 
speech-making, Imnished entertainment for all. from 
far and near had come the friends of the woikmen, of 
the house, and of the family, to share in the enjoyment 
and to express their sympathy and interest. 

Near the main entrance to the house a ti'i- 
bune, decorated with the marble busts of the last pro- 
prietor and his wife, was the scene of a variety of 
addresses and presentations from members of the family, 



19 



artists, business friends, deputations from the Nlirnberg 
Mechanics' Institute and others, followed hy the reading 
of a characteristic autograph letter from the reigning 
King of Bavaria, handed to Mr. Faber in the midst of 
the festivities: — 

" HOHICNSCIIWANGAU, Sepleriibei- 14tll, 1861. 

" Oil tlie KJtIi inst. you celebrate, I ain told, tlie ceii- 
teiiary amiiversary of the founding of your factory, an estab- 
lislimeiit whose well-earned reputation at home and abroad is au 
Iionor to the entire industry of Bavaria. Tiie knowledge of the 
care wliic you devote to the comfort and well-being of your 
work-peOjrftt is to me a source of especial gratification. Tlie fes- 
tival you are about to keep atlbrds me the opportunity to offer 
you my congratulations, and to express the hope that the estab- 
lishment conducted by you w-ith so much suc-cess in the past 
may enjoy continued prosperity in the future. 
"With sincere good wishes 

"■ Your affectionate King 

Max." 
"Mr. J. LoTHAiR Fabkr, Stein. 

This kind and thoughtful letter elicited three 
hearty cheers for the king, in which all present enthu- 
siastically joined. 

The neighboring citizens of Nlirnberg soon 
after added another to the many pleasant memories 
of this eventful day, by presenting to Mr. Faber, by 
the hands of three of the most eminent among their 
number, the freedom of that ancient city, '' in acknow- 
ledgment of his many distinguished services in the 
cause of Niirnberg's commerce and industrial reputa- 
tion." But the most touchiui? event connected with 
this celebration was the erection, by the villagers, of a 
memorial tablet in the little church. It consists of a 



bronze tablet with ;i bas-relief bust of the proprietor of 
the factory, and commemorates his gift to the village 
of the church itself The ceretnotiy was accompanied 
by the presentation to him of an engrossed copy of a 
trust-deed, by which a fund raised among the more 
wealthy men of the little village is devoted to the pay- 
ment of a choir of boys, who ever after will keep his 
birthday by the singing of hymns at break of day be- 
neath his window, while he lives, and over his grave 
after his death. 

The festivities of the celebration closed at a 
late hour with a general illumination and a series of 
fireworks, after which the assembled multitudes sep- 
ai-ated with the kindest and heartiest wishes for the 
future prosperity of the factor}'. 

The difficulties that the Pencil Makers met 
with, when, in the earlier history of this branch of in- 
dustry, they sought to discover a substitute for the ex- 
hausted native Cumberland lead by combining various 
substances with the inferior lead obtained from other 
localities, have already been described. Reference has 
also been made to the persevering searches carried on 
in different pai'ts of the world for a lead that might 
take the place of that from the Borrowdale mines, all 
of which were failures. It is the object of these pages 
to chronicle the final success of one of these endeavors, 
a success of the most perfect kind, due partly to acci- 
dent, but mainly to the intelligent perseverance of the 
discoverer, and which it is the pride of the house of 
A. W. Faber to have aided and rendei'ed possible by 
their pecuniary supjioit. 



21 



Joliii Peter AUhert, a Fi'encli iiiercliiiut re.sidiug 
in Tiivvastlius, in Asiatic Siberia, started in the year 
1846 on a business tonr through the mountainous re- 
gions of Eastern Siberia, and tempted by the uncer- 
tain but exciting reports then beginning to be heard, 
of gold discoveries in California, carefully examined 
the sandy beds of the rivers Oka, Belloi, Kitoi, and 
Irkutsk, all flowing into or towards the Arctic Ocean. 
In one of the mountain gorges near Irkutsk he dis- 
covered among the sand, samples of pure graphite, 
.showing by their smooth, round form and brilliant 
polish that they had evidently been brought from a 
great distance by the stream. Alibert immediately 
recognized the importance and the value of this ma- 
terial, and pursuing now his researches systematically, 
followed up the stream and all its tributaries to 
their foimtain heads, until, in the year 1847, his en- 
terprise and patient labor were rewarded by indu- 
bitable evidence, that in one of the branches of the 
Saian mountain range, on the very summit of Mount 
Batougol, four hundred Russian wersts (about two hun- 
dred and seventy English miles) west of the town of 
Iikutsk, near the Chinese frontier, there existed an ex- 
tensive deposit of piimitive graphite. 

He at once proceeded to open a mine, at a 
point where the surface indications seemed most favor- 
able. But the undertaking was one of immense diffi- 
culty. Mount Batougol rises in the centre of an all 
but desert rocky mountain range. Men, material of 
every kind, food for man and beast, had to be brought 
on the backs of reindeer Iroui points hundreds of miles 
distant. But Alibert was not to be daunted. He en- 



i>2 

* 

closed sufficient land for ii little farm at the foot of the 
luoiintain, in order to raise the most necessary produce ; 
he built one hut after another for the increased num- 
ber of his workmen, and gradually gathered around 
him a little colony with whose aid he patiently peise- 
vered in his enterprise. After seven years of laboi', 
and after blasting out and bringing to the surface hun- 
dreds of tons of the granite rock, and immense quan- 
tities of inferior and impure lead, resembling exactly 
the refuse from the Borrowdale Mines, he at last had 
the satisfaction of disclosing an imbroken layer of the 
purest and most superb graphiie, from which solid 
pieces, weighing eighty pounds and more, could readily 
be taken. 

The attention of the ever-watchful Russian 
Government was soon directed to his undertaking. 
Count Mourjiwiew Amursky, Governor-General of the 
Province of Irkutsk, encouraged and aided him by 
many marks of special favor. On proceeding to St. 
Petersburg, he was most graciously received by the 
Grand Duke, heir to the throne, and by the Emperor 
himself. By order of his Majesty he was presented 
with a silver medal, and decorated with the ribbon of 
the Order of Saint Stanislaus. The Imperial Academy 
of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, to whom the samples 
of his graphite were submitted lor examination, re- 
turned the following report : — 

[iRANSLATlON.] 

Tlic uiitlersiorned, members of the Committee of tlie Im- 
perial Academy of Fine Aits, after liaviiiy examined the sam- 
ples submitted to us of tlie native <;ra|iliite tliseo\eied in Siberia, 
by Mr. Alibert, Iieieliy certily, tliat we find tliis ijra|iliite to l>e 




..liiill 



mm 



'"liii 



iiiiii 



ills- 



vMH J(iHaiiiillitl«llPlilli»:r*!l'ri(riii>iliinii|iii:«i wiml'i 



of L'xoelleiit quality fur (Irawiiig-peucils of every kind, and tliat 
it n(jt only by far surjiasses that ustil at present in the manu- 
facture of all other lead-pencils, but is equal, nay, superior even, 
to that formerly obtained from the now exhausted mine of Bor- 
rowdale, the pencils made from which enjoy such a hip;h repu- 
tation throughout Euro]ie. 

PiiTERSisuRG, March 3d. 1850. 

Signed: Vice Pnaidntt : Count Theodore Foi.stoi. 
Merfors : Constaktine Toon. Biuni. Professors: A. Brui.ow, 
Baron Klodt, A. Markow, A. Stackenschn eider, Neif, O. 
Zavialoff, N. Outkin and Jordan. 

The Governor-General of the Baltic Provinces, 
Baron Lieven, and the President of the Imperial Geo- 
graphicid Society of Russiji, addressed him flattering let- 
ters, and Mount Batougol, the scene of his interesting 
lahors, was named in his honor Mount Alibert. 

Encouraged, but not satisfied, by these ac- 
knowledgments, Alibert next went to England. He vis- 
ited and carefully examined tlie exhausted Cumberland 
mines, and satisfied himself that no further supplies 
could be expected from them. He submitted samjjles 
of his lead to all the prominent pencil manufacturers 
tliere, and their verdict unanimously confirmed the re- 
port of the St. Petersburg Academy. Englishmen of 
science were much interested in his discoveries, and his 
collections of graphite, and other rare minerals, gathere<l 
in his extensive travels in Siberia Avere deposited in 
London in the South Kensington Museum, the British 
Museum, and the Museum of Practical Geology in Jer- 
mjn Street. 

France, always ready to recognize merit of any 
kind, and specially interested in the important discovery 



made by one of her sons in a distant foreign country, 
took pleasure in distinguishing Mr. Alibert. He soon 
became the recipient of numerous letters of congratu- 
lation ; the Emperor decorated him with the Cross of 
the Legion of Honor, and the Society for the Encour- 
agement of the Arts and Sciences, at a later period, 
awarded him a gold medal, and published in their Pro- 
ceedings a lengthy Report, by the President of the Soci- 
ety (M. Dumas, Senator and Member of the Academy), 
from which Report the following paragraphs of general 
interest are quoted : — 

[original.] 

"Paris, 30 Mais, 18G4. 

"On salt que les c<;lebres mines tie Borrowdale, clans 
le Cmnberland, aujourd'hui epuisdes, et ijiii o)it pendant luno- 
tenijis aliment^ I'Europe, ont i)rodnit annuelleinent deux millidus 
at demi de benefice, et presqne uii million encore dans les derniere-^ 
ann^es. 

" II est permis de croire, (>n voyant la puissance des 
masses, la puret^ et la belle natinv des produits de la mine mise 
en exploitation par M. Alibert, qu'elle est destinee a prendre 
dans ie conunerce ennipcen la i)lafe que la mine de Borrowdale 
y occupait. 

" Rien ne nous met sur ia trace, quant a i)r{!sent, de^; 
]>roc6d6s dont la nature s'est servie pour ia production dn dia- 
mant, quoique son ])]us pi'ociie voisiii, le siliciuui, ait 6t^ obtenn 
en cristanx, et si diverses circonstances permettent de soup^onncr 
la nianiere dont les masses de grapliite que la nature nous otliv 
ont 6t6 formees ; il n'en est pas inoins certain qu'une fabrication 
^conomique du grapliite est loin de toute probability prdsente. 

" Dans ces circonstances, une decouverte et une ex- 
ploitation, deja assur(5e sur une grande «5clielle, qui mettent a la 
disposition de Y industiie et des arts le grapliite qui vient lem- 
l)lacer si -a propos pour lours besoins celui que ieur procurait 



25 

(lepuis si lonjrtemp? la mine de Borrowd.ile, sont, an plus Iiant 
degr(3, digues de rattention de la Societd d'Eiicoiirageinent. 

[traxslation.] 

" It is known that the celebrated mines of IJorrow- 
dalo, in Cumberland, now exhausted, but which fur many years 
supplied all Europe, have yielded profits of two millions and a 
half of francs per annum, and even quite recently of a million 
of francs per annum. 

"It now seems likely, judging by tiie solidity, volume, 
the purity, and the superb ipiality of the product of the mine 
worked by Mr. Alibert, that the latter is destined to fill the place 
formerly occupied in the conunerce of Europe by the Cumber- 
land mine. 

" Science is unable as yet to trace the processes by 
which Nature creates the diamond, but she has herself succeeded 
in producing in the crystallized state silicium, its next - door 
neighbor, as it were. So, too, we may form some conception of 
the manner in which the graphite that Nature furnishes us has 
been created ; but we must not therefrom infer that there is the 
least present prospect of our being able to produce it by artificial 
means. Hence an enterprise like that of j\lr. Alibert, which 
opportunely furnishes the arts and sciences with a material so 
long obtained from Borrowdale alone, is in the highest degree 
deserving of the attention of your Society." 

So general was the interest created by the 
important discoveries of Mr. Alibert, the boldness of his 
undertaking, and the beauty and value of the specimens 
and collections presented by him to the different muse- 
ums and learned societies, tliat he was further honored 
by the bestowal upon him of the Order of Charles 111. 
on the part of the Queen of Spain, and the Order of 
the Danebrog on the part of the King of Denmark ; 
and by the reception of letters from the King of Prus- 
sia, from the Pope Pius IX., from Cardinal Antonelli, 



2G 

from the Secretary of State of Sweden and Norway, 
by order of the King, and from a number of other 
persons of rank and distinction in the world of science 
and art. 

Flattering and gratifying as these honors nat- 
urally were to Mr. Alibert, they alone were not, of 
course, a sufficient reward for eight years of incessant 
labor and the expenditure of a million of francs. That 
rewaid could oidy be obtained by rendering his discov- 
ery practically available, especially for the manufacture 
of pencils, for which purpose the lead is more valuable 
than for any other. He addressed to the house of A. 
W. Faber, as the maiuifacturer most generally known 
for the superior quality of his goods, a jjroposition 
to furnish him exclusively with the new Siberian lead, 
which offer, after a thorough examination of the new ma- 
terial, and after acquiring the conviction that it equalled 
in quality the best early product of the Cumberland 
mine, was promptly accepted. In 1856 a contract was 
formally entered into, and indorsed and sanctioned by 
the Russian Government, in accordance with which the 
Siberia^ lead, in so far as suitable for the manufacture 
of pencils, is furnished now and for all future time to 
the house of A. W. Faber alone. 

Alibert now returned to the mines, and pushed 
his labors with increased activity. The farther he opened 
up the mine, the more the quality and purity of the 
lead improved. Large blocks of unbroken surface, and 
bright like polished steel, were taken out, and after sev- 
eral years of additional labor, the first extensive ship- 
ment of over 100,000 lbs. of the precious material could 
be forwarded to the factory. The difficulties of transporta- 



•5 

(> 

w 

o 
o 

o 

»^ 

o 

M 

td 
H 
W 




27 



tion were enormous. Carefully piicked in stout wooden 
boxes, part of it was carried on the backs of reindeer 
to the Anioor River, an enormous distance, over territory 
in which even the semblance of a road is unknown, 
and thence by sea to European ports; part travelled 
the entire distance overland, from the very centre of 
Asia to the little village of Stein, near NUrnberg, where, 
a century before, in the little cottage-house with its 
garden-lot on the Rednitz River, had been planted the 
first germ of this surely magnificent enterprise. 

Henceforth the success of the undertaking de- 
pended mainly upon the manufacturer. But in spite of 
his individual experience of nearly a quarter of a cen- 
tury, in spite of his familiarity with every process and 
every experiment tried by himself and others, it yet 
required five years more of incessant labor and study 
before he had successfully mastered the difficulties of 
the new material.' It was only in the year 1861 that 
he was able to place upon the market the first samples 
of pencils made with the new Siberian lead, — fifteen 
years after the fii'st discovery of the material itself in 
the mountain gorges of Siberia by Mr. Alibert, search- 
ing for gold. So slow was the growth of an enterprise, 
destined, it is hoped, to be permanent. 

It seems almost needless to say, that the suc- 
cess of the new Siberian Lead -Pencils was complete. 
At the London Exhibition of 1862, where they were 
first shown in quantities, they were awarded two medals 
in Class XXVllI. : one to Mr. Alibert, for " excellence 
of penc'/s made from natural Siberian graphite," and 
one to Mr. Faber, for "' black-lead pencils of excellent 
quality made from the newly discovered Siberian gra])h 



28 

ite." Mr. Alibert furthei" received a medal in Class I., 
'" for his meritorious development of the fine graphite 
of Irkutsk, his display of the same, and of the splendid 
block of nephrite." The Report of the International 
J ury of the same Exhibition contains the following : — 

"Since the Exhibition of 1851, where the de- 
ceased Mr. Brockedon displayed cakes of compressed 
dust of the Cumberland graphite, no progress has been 
made in the process of making lead-pencils. The Exhi- 
bition of 18G2, however, points out to manuflicturers of 
this article a new source of grajDhite, introduced to the 
public by Mr. J. P. Alibert, who has successfully ex- 
plored the mines of Siberia, and discovered a graphite 
possessing various degrees of hardness and of blackness 
suitable for the mauuflicture of pencils. Mr. A. \Y. 
Faber, of Bavaria, who has done so much to improve 
the mechanical processes of the pencil manufacture, has 
been the first to employ the new material, and already 
produces pencils of great excellence made of this min- 
eral." 

The French Society for the Encouragement of 
the Arts and Sciences, wlio had awarded Mr. Alibert a 
gold medal for the discovery of the lead, now pulj- 
lished in their " Proceedings " a Report froui the pen of 
Baron de Silvestre, Chairman of the Committee on Fine 
Arts, upon the pencils, from which the following passages 
are quoted : — 

[oKUaNAI,.] 

" I'.vins, 4 Miii, 18G4. 

"... Sans jn'^j'uger de I'aveiiir du grapliite, eu egurd 

aux a\;uitai;e.s iju'en pourroiit titer la science et I'industrie, nous 

poiivons dire ciue ce sont les beaux-arts qirintei-esse Je [ilus, au- 

jcnii-d hui, la decniiverte de M. Alibeit. On suit, en etfet, (jue 




HEAD OF SHAFT IN THE ALIBEKT MINE. 



29 

h, fabrication des crayons, fabrication <iui est <rune utilite si 
.en(3rale, souftrait cl.nque jonr (ravantage de la privation de bon 
graphite depuis Fentier 6puisement des mines de Borrovvdale dans 

le Cumberland. 

"... M. Alibert a presente de- nombreux dchantil- 
lons de crayons, obtenus avec son graphite, a votre Commission, 
qui les a examin(3s avec soin et les a soumis a des epreuves 
multipU6es. Elle est d'avis que ces crayons ne laissent rien a 
desirer, et qu'ils peuvent parfaitement rcpondre, non-seulement a 
tous k's besoins, mais meme a toutes les exigences des consom- 

matenrs. 

"... Les crayons que votre Commission a eus dans 
les mains sont sortis des ateliers de M. Faber. Ce fabricant, 
bien connu de vous, et qui, depuis longtemps, est en position de 
fournir d'excellents crayons an commerce, est le seul qui emploie 
le graphite de Siberie. M. Alibert lui a livrd, pour une premiere 
fois, il y a un an, environ 50,000 kilogrammes de graphite." 

[translation.] 
"... Without prejudice to the other [)urposes for 
which graphite is now employed, or for which science and indus- 
try may still further render it available, we may yet say, that for 
the present it is the Fine Arts that are the most interested in 
Mr. Alibert's discovery. It is, in fact, well known that the 
manufacture of lead-pencils, a branch of industry so generally 
useful, has been daily more and more oppressed by the want of 
.rood o-raphite, ever since the complete exhaustion of the mmes 
of Borrowdale in Cumberland. 

"... Mr. Alibert has submitted to your Committee 
numerous samples of pencils made from his grai)hite, which have 
been carefully examined and submitted to repeated tests. Your 
Committee are of opinion that these pencils leave nothing to be 
desired, and must thoroughly satisfy not the wants only, but the 
wishes even, of those who use tliem. 

"... The jiencils that your Conunittee have exam- 
ined came from the manutkctory of Mr. Faber. His house, well 



30 

known to you, and for many years past enj^aged iri furnisliing 
commerce with excellent lead-pencils, is the only one that receives 
the Siberian graphite. INIr. Alibert supplied him, about a year 
ago, with a first shiimient of 50,000 kilogrammes (about 110,000 
lbs.) of this material; 
"Paris, Mny 4, 18G4." 

Further samples of the new pencils were sub- 
mitted bj Mr. Faber to the leading European artists. 
Horace Vernet, who years ago had l)een among the 
first to cheerfully lend the aid of his indorsement to 
the jjroducts of the factory, then just emerging into 
extended fame, — Horace Vernet was since deceased. 
But friends almost as old as he — Cornelius, Kaulbach, 
Lessing, whose friendly support to A. W. Faber dated 
back as far as his, as well as many others, younger in 
fame as well as years — were again ready to show their 
interest i-n the success of the manufactory at Stein, and 
wrote, both to Mr. Faber and to Mr. Alibert, many let- 
ters of encoui'agement and approval, some of which, in 
the original as well as translated, are here appended. 

EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM J. I). A. INGRES, SENATOR AND 
MEMBER OF THE FREXCH INSTITUTE. 

" MiiUNG-suu-LoiUK, 10 Noveuibre, 1863. 
'■ Je lie puis quajouter mon approbation aux honora- 
bles elogus qui accorapagnent la serie complete de vos excellents 
craj'ons, d'une quality supurieure. Cette decouverte toute iii- 
dustrielle est due a votre iniatigable pers(3verance, et assure aux 
artistes des moyens faciles et agreables pour dessiner."' 

[translation.] 
" I can but indorse the flattering testimonials accom- 
panying the complete series of your excellent pencils of superior 
quality. Tiiib discovery, entirely industrial in its character, is 



flue to your tiiitirino; perseverance, and secures to us artists an 
agreeable ami useful clrawinj); material." 

EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM E. ISAKIJY. 

"Paris, 20 Noveinbre, 1863. 
" Je suis lieureux de certifier que les crayons marquds 
A. W. Faher, et fabriques avec le graphite de Sib<3rie de la 
mine Alibert, sont les meilleurs crayons, et bien pr<;f(f;rables a 
toutes les fabrications conniies jusqu'a ce jour." 

[translation.] 

" I take pleasure in certifyinij tliat the pencils stamped 
A. \V. Faber, and made of the Siberian graphite, from the 
Alibert mine, are the best of ]iencils, and much to be preferred 
to all Iieretofore known." 

extract of A LETTER FROM W. VON KAULBACH. 

" MuNCHKN, den 7ten Jaiiuai-, 1864. 

" Hire ganz vorzligliehen Bleistifte aus sibirischem Graphit 
babe ich erhalten, probirt, und sogleich in Gebrauch genommen. 
Ich finde, dass sie von gleichmassiger Feinheit, Kraft und Ge- 
.schmeidigkeit sind ; ja sie scheinen mir die besten zu sein, die ich 
bis jetzt in Handen hatte, und sie entsprechen alien Anforderuno-en 
des Zeichners." 

[translation.] 

" Your very excellent pencils of Siberian graphite have 
been received, tried, and at once put in use; I find that they 
are of even fineness, strength, and smoothness ; nay, they seem 
to be the best I ever had in my hands, and they respond to all 
the needs of the draughtsman." 

EXTRACT of A LETTER FROM C. F. LESSING. 

" Carlsruiik, den SOsten .Januar, 1864. 
" Hire Zusendung von neuen Bleistiften aus sibirischem 
Graphit war gerade zu einer Zeit angekommen, wo meine Be- 
schaftigung ausnahmsweise derart war, gleich einen anhaltenden 



Versucli mit clenselhen anstcllen zu kiiiincn, unci woliei icli micli 
griiiullich ijberzeugt liabe, class Ilir neiies Fabrikat von der liarte- 
sten bis zur weiciisten Nuinmer alles frulier mir bekannt ge- 
wordene bei Weitem iibertrift't, unJ mir iiichts zu wiinsciien 
libi'ig lasst." 

[translation.] 

" Carlsuuhe, Jamnry 20, 1804. 
" Your samples of new pencils made from Sibei'ian 
graphite reached nie precisely at a time when the exceptional 
nature of my occupation permitted of my giving them a sustained 
trial. I iiave become thorougidy eonynced tiiat this new arti- 
cle in all its grades, from the hardest to the softest, far sur- 
jiasses everything heretofore known to me, and really leaves 
nothing to be desired." 

EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM J. L. E. MEISSONIER. 

" Poissv, prcs Paris, 2(; Janvier, 18IU. 

" J'avais cptasi renoncd a avc)ir de bons crayons, et 
depuis ceux que vous mavez envoyes, faits avec votre magni- 
fique grapliite, je suis tout a fait heureux ; il me sera d^sormais 
imjiossible d'en employer d'autres." 

[translation.] 

" PoissY, near Pauis, January 20, 1804. 
" I had about given up all hope of ever having good 
pencils, and am perfectly happy at receiving those which you 
have sent me, made from your magnificent graphite ; it will be 
impossible for me hereafter ever to use others." 

EXTRACT of a LETTER FROM P. VON CORNELIUS. 

" liiCKLi.v, lien 18sten Felinuu', 18G4. 
" Mit Vergniigen bestatige ich, class sicli die Fabrikation 
air Ihrer Bleistiftsorten inmier mehr und mehr vervoUkommnet 
hat. Ihre neuen Bleistifte aus sibirischem Graphit sind so vortrefi^^- 
lich, dass sie niclits zu wiinsciien iibrig lassen." 



33 



[trvnsi.vtion.] 

" Berlin, February 18, 1864. 
" I take pleasure in stating that all tlie pencils of your 
nianufecture have steadily improved in quality. Your new pen- 
cils from Siberian lead are so excellent that they leave nothing 
to he desired." 

EXTRVCT OF A LETTER FROM GUST AVE DORE. 

'• Paris, 7 Juillet, 18G4. 
" Je trouve excellents en tons points les crayons A. W. 
Faber en graphite de Sib^rie que vous avez eu I'obligeance de 
me faire remettre, et dont je me suis servi pendant ce dernier 
mois. Je les reconnais surtout conime tres sup^rieurs pour le 
dessin sur hois, dont je m'occupe sp^cialement, et de beaucoup 
pr^ferables a tons les crayons que j'avais employes jusqu'a ce 
jour. Je les recommande done particulierement aux artistes qui 
s'occupont de ce genre de travaux." 

[translation.] 
" The pencils manufactured by A. W. Faber fVom 
Siberian graphite, which you were kind enough to send me, and 
which I have had in use for the last month, are in every re- 
spect excellent. For drawing on wood, in which I am princi- 
pally engaged, they are especially good, and by far superior to 
any pencils I have heretofore used. I recommend them strongly 
to artists engaged in this class of work." 

EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM FRIEDRICH OVERBECK. 

■■ Rom. nm 7ten December, 1864. 
" Ich kann Ihnen sagen, dass nach meiner Ueberzeugung 
die mir iibersandten Proben Hirer neuesten Bleistifte aus sibirischem 
Graphit nichts zu wUnschen iibrig lassen. 

" Ich wiinsche Ihnen daher Gliick zu diesein Ergebniss 
Ihrer mehrjahrigen Bemiihungen um die Vervollkommnung eines 
fur die Kiinstler so wichtigen Gegenstandes, und sage Ihnen im 
Namen derselben meinen Dank dafiir." 
5 



34 



[translation.] 

" I may say to you, tliat the samples sent me of your 
new lead - pencils from Siberian graphite leave nothing to be 
desired. 

" I congratulate you, therefore, on this result of your 
persevering efforts to perfect a material of so much importance 
to artists, and offer you in their name my best thanks." 

Collections of specimens of graphite interesting 
to science and art are now being prepared at the 
mines, intended to be offered to the mineralogical cabi- 
nets of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington and 
the Mining School of Columbia College in New York. 

It is nineteen years since Alibert discovered 
the first specimens of graphite in the beds of mountain 
torrents in Asiatic Siberia, nine years since the con- 
tract "was made to furnish the lead exclusively to the 
manufactory of A. W. Faber in Stein, and only now 
(1865) has it become possible to submit the pencils 
made from it to the American public. 

Time only can show whether so much labor 
has been well employed. 



THE KND. 



